


I Taught The Sea My Song

by GratiaPlena



Category: Holby City
Genre: F/F, Mermaids, Sirens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2020-11-08 02:36:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20827991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GratiaPlena/pseuds/GratiaPlena
Summary: After Adrienne’s death, Serena tries to find solace at the rugged coastline of Brittany. Her sad song calls a curious, beautiful sea creature to the shore.Written for the Berena Remix Fic Exchange, based on the story Come Away With Me by Regency.(The story is complete now!)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Come Away With Me](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12466620) by [Regency](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Regency/pseuds/Regency). 

> I felt so lucky to get Regency as my writer for this fic exchange! I had so many fabulous stories to choose from! It was a wonderful reason to read these favourites again.
> 
> I love siren and mermaid lore, so the story “Come Away With Me’ was natural choice for remixing, as well as a great excuse to study siren and mermaid songs, legends, myths and even philosophical discourse (!) all summer long. 
> 
> I took Regency’s plot, and also copied two of my most favourite lines almost word for word. I’ll mark them with an asterix, so you'll know it is Regency's genius at work there, not moi.
> 
> Do please read her original, here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12466620  
It is magical.  
And if you visit it, you can also follow a link to a gorgeous manip that Karyn did for the story, which would fit this story beautifully, too..
> 
> I hope you like my tribute to your story, Regency!  
And thank you to everyone else for reading!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Serena finds her voice. And sea food.

_Isn’t it grand_  
I picked up a pebble on the sand  
It knows my hand  
I taught the sea my song  
And it sings it for me when I am gone 

_Seasons of rain_  
I bring my little river  
The sea knows my pain  
I gave the sea my tears  
And they’ll cry for you when I am not here 

_Under the sun_  
All of the pebbles on the sand  
Know why I’ve come  
The sea knows what I’ve done  
And it missed the sea toys that I took home  
And it’s gonna miss me when I am gone  
And it’s gonna miss you ‘cause we are one 

_ \- song by Melanie Safka, "Pebbles in the Sand"_

__

Chapter 1

Serena sat on the edge of a fretted rock, looking out over the Celtic Sea. The rock dropped away sharply into the water beneath her. Waves were crashing at the schist stone below, and on each side of her. Only a thin strip of dry rock connected her to the almost vertical rock formation behind her. When she turned around and peered up, she could just see the bonnet of her rental car, high above her, and the small, steep footpath that had led her down here.

Those were the only signs of the existence of mankind. The sound of traffic, on the coastal road up there, was entirely drowned out by the crashing of the waves. She watched as a group of seagulls flew by, just above the waves, dipping into the foam, then swirling up, and letting themselves be carried away by the wind. Their cries, too, were drowned by the roaring of the water. Not another living soul could be seen or heard. 

There were little pools of water in the top of the rock. Spray was spitting up at her every now and then, suggesting to her that the sea was quite capable of overflowing her perch.Tiny droplets were clinging to her vest and hair, mingling on her cheeks with saline liquid of another origin. She let her tears flow down her face freely. Even now, weeks after, she could still not unravel the tangle of emotions connected to her mother’s death. There was intense sadness, of course. But it was interspersed with relief, anger, and not a small amount of incomprehensible joy - a newfound sense of freedom to finally be her true self. But then again, she was sure her mother, throughout her life, had championed nothing but Serena growing into her own strength.Why should she feel freed from expectations only now? It was all so confusing, this mishmash of feelings, and it seemed entirely too much to contain within just one person. She was glad that she was alone here, with the sea - mother of all life, so she could let herself overflow for a while.

Raph had sent her here, right after their impromptu burial of Adrienne’s ashes. Well..he hadn’t sent her here exactly. He had arranged time off work for her, and had bought her tickets to Paris. But as soon as she had set foot in that beloved city, the memories of her trips there with her mother, as well as the overwhelming bustle of the crowds, sent her running into the nearest train out of there. She had picked a random regional train, and got out at the last station that the train took her to, which turned out to be Brest in Brittany. And here she was now, at the craggy coastline of Cap Sizun. She had been here for four days now, visiting the megaliths, roaming the beautiful landscapes, dining at quaint cafés. Today she drove along the coast line, and visited Pointe du Raz, which had been a little too touristy. She drove a while away from it, and walked down the steep path to be closer to the water. It was a case of ‘like being attracted to like’, she guessed, as the sea seemed to draw the tears from her.

It began to rain lightly. Even more water rushed to her aide, to cleanse her murky emotional state of mind. She didn’t bother to get up. The landscape around her, desolate and rugged as it was, gained yet another shade of despair,clouds getting denser, the shadows between rocks darkening, sea shades deepening - a perfect backdrop to her inner turmoil.  
She hugged her knees to herself, and while the tears still dripped steadily down, while the drizzle still fell lightly upon her, the spray spat up, and the waves crashed around her, she began to hum. She didn’t even notice it at first. It startled her a little, especially when she recognised the song - an old french lullaby. She began to recall the words that her mother had sung to her so frequently. Not only her eyes were overflowing now, but her mouth as well. Words and melody spilled out. She sang the lullaby hesitatingly once, then again - much bolder. All the words came back to her now. She sang at full voice, singing the words into the wind and the waves! Her tears had stopped, the wheels in her mind had ground to a halt. It was just her voice versus the elements, wild and free!

Splatsh!

Something fell onto the rock, right next to her. She turned to look and then jumped up. A big brown lobster had landed, upside down, on the rock. Its legs were cycling up in the air. She looked around her. It seemed like someone had thrown the lobster at her. But of course that was folly. The sea looked as turbulent, yet desolately solitary as it did before. The rock wall behind her was rugged and silent. There was no one else around. A wave must have carried the unfortunate creature unto the rock.She poked it with her foot, and shrieked a little when it moved, but helplessly fell back into its upside-down position, it’s legs grappling with empty air. She used her backpack this time, to help the lobster to flip over. Then she gave him a firm shove down the side of the rock. She was too cowardly to look whether it had cracked its shell on the way down, or whether it was able to get away to safety.  
Anyway, she reasoned, it was getting late now - she needed to go back to her holiday home, if she wanted to get back there before dark. She still needed to do food shopping too. No more time for nature preservation. She had done her best. She had gone beyond her duty already. She couldn’t be expected to rescue the wretched, wriggly thing twice, now could she? She turned around and made her way back up to her car.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the sea judges Serena's singing.

The next day, Serena made her way down that stoney path again. She clambered across the rocks carefully, finding her way back to the rock where she had sat yesterday. Her rock.  
Ever since she had returned to her holiday home, she had wanted to come back down here again. She had felt so calm and worry free for a few moments, singing to the sea. She couldn’t wait to experience this freedom once more, and hoped that the place would bring her back to that exact state of mind.

She sat down and looked over the sea. The sky was clear today, with only a few fluffy clouds on a canvas of bright blue. The sea seemed calmer, and friendlier too. Yesterday’s colours had been dark: browns and murky greens. Today the shades were leaning towards a muddy turquoise and deep blues. Waves lapped calmly at her rock, and around it. 

She sat still for a while, trying to capture yesterday’s mood. Then began to hum, letting a melody bubble up from her unconsciousness, if it wished to do so. After a while, she recognised the melody of a sixties folk song from one of her mother’s old LP collection. She began to sing softly at first, then, finding her voice and confidence, singing out the melody loudly, letting the wind carry her voice. Again, the uneasy murmuring of her thoughts came to a halt, the sadness weighing down her body seemed to make way for a lighter melancholy. She let the lyrics ring out over the sea!

Clang, clang, clang!!

“Ouch!” she shouted out, as she was suddenly bombarded by a handful of sea snails.

She looked around. There was no one in the bay. The waters were boatless.  
Was this a way of the sea to let her know to stop singing? Rude.

She got up to walk back up to her car, when she heard a strange swishing that seemed to go against the rhythm of the waves, and then she heard a lot of little thuds and clacks. She turned around, to see a hand deposit a fresh batch of sea snails onto the rock, then the hand stretched up in an apologetic gesture, only to disappear into the water. 

Serena scrambled to the edge of the rock and carefully peered over, into the depths. She imagine she saw a shadow, somewhat darker blue in shade than the sea water, moving away into the depths. 

Huh.

She certainly shouldn’t drink wine with her Breton crêpes for lunch anymore.

“Eh.., merci!” she shouted at the sea, just to be sure.

Then she took off her alpaca woolen shawl and gathered the sea snails in it,wrapped them up carefully and put the bundle in her backpack. She shook her head, walking back up the steep footpath to her rental car. Well, it looks like I’m going to have periwinkles for dinner, she thought to herself.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Serena begins to understand what kind of creature she is dealing with.

Chapter 3

That night and the following day, she couldn’t think of anything but the mysterious hand from the sea, delivering those (delicious, to be fair) periwinkles to her. But she also feared that the grief was making her a little delusional.

Perhaps it would be best to put her rock out of her mind for today. She went shopping in Brest, had a fantastic lunch in a crêperie (no wine), and then decided to visit the Notre Dame de Roscudon in Pont-Croix. It had nothing to do with the fact that the village was close to her rock - honestly. Pure coincidence. Couldn’t a girl visit a church without internal chastising?  
After visiting the church, lovely but nothing special as ancient churches go, she decided to have a drink at the local café. She whiled away an hour or two, deciphering a French newspaper, then having a conversation in broken French with a couple from Sweden that drove down to Brittany every year. After that, there was nothing to do, but drive back to her holiday home, and wait for sleep, that would not come - surprise surprise.   
Because driving to the bay and visiting her rock, just wouldn’t do,right?   
She berated herself. Why should she NOT visit a place where she had felt this calm? Wasn’t this whole trip meant to help take the sharpness off her grief? Let her visit a place that is healing, then.

She got into her car and resolutely drove down to the bay, her feet sure on the footpath to the depths of the rocky shore below. She took her usual seat on the rock, and thought about singing. But maybe the singing is what put her into such a strange, hallucinatory mood before.   
So she did nothing, just sat for a while, simply let the crashing of the waves soothe her soul. 

Nothing out of the ordinary happened. See? This was fine. More than fine. She felt calm. Perhaps sleep would not elude her tonight. As the sun began to set, and the sea and rocks began to tinge red, she got up, wrapped her shawl around her, and began the walk up the path. 

She was nearly at the top, when an otherworldy sound reached her. It sounded like the howling of the wind at first, a strongly melodic, echoey sound. But then she realised it must be the sea that was singing. She turned around, held onto the handrail, and looked down over the water. The waves were calmly splashing ashore. The sound seemed to come from further into the sea, a ways towards the horizon. Serena squinted. Was there a little rowing boat out there? No, it was someone swimming! She closed her eyes momentarily, and looked again. Yes, it was definitely someone swimming - and singing.

She heard the song more clearly now. The other sounds of nature seemed subdue themselves, so that the singing was the only sound to reach Serena.   
A beautiful melody rang out over the water, lyrics clear, but in a language that was unknown to her. And all the while, the singer was continuing to swim, with considerable speed, along the coastline. They were weaving through the waves, finding their way effortlessly through the sharp rocks.  
Had Serena been of sound mind, she would have shouted out, or phoned the coastal guard to warn them of someone in danger of drowning. But as things were, she was rooted to the spot, open mouthed, mesmerised by the strange, dulcit tones reaching her, in awe of the grace of the swimmer far below her. 

The sun was almost under now, and the first stars began to appear. The pale light of the moon shone upon the black waters. Serena drew the shawl snug to her chest*. Somehow, in the twilight, she began to see the swimmer more clearly. Their body glimmered in the water, the pale moonlight reflecting on...scales? They were languidly swimming, a backstroke, parallel to the shore, singing out to the moon above the dark waters. And even though the swimmer didn’t look into Serena’s direction once, Serena knew that her presence was known. She was seen. She was swum for. She was sung to.   
Serena didn’t know how long she stood there for, but suddenly, the song ended, and the swimmer dived into the waves and disappeared. 

It was then that Serena’s other senses seemed to reawaken. She felt the sharp cold of the autumn night on her skin, heard the roaring of the waves beneath her, and noticed the darkness surrounding her. She quickly walked up to her car and drove to the nearest police station. She needed to warn people. She needed to rescue the swimmer. Or be rescued by them. Where did that thought come from? No, the strange, singing swimmer needed to be taken out of the water. She felt sure of it.

She walked into the police station, and was greeted by a middle aged, male officer, who was watching a tv show behind a counter, eating a mussel soup with bread. He handed her a form and waved for her to sit and fill it out. He immediately returned to his dinner and the tv show.

Serena sighed and looked at the form,then up at the officer.

“Ehm..excusez-moi?” she asked. “J’ai vue…” Well, what had she seen? She couldn’t very well tell the police man that she saw a mermaid? “Ehm…” 

He looked at her, clearly annoyed that she was interrupting his tv viewing. 

Serena bit her lip. “Ehm.. Oú est la pharmacie, s’il vous plaît?” 

He snarled some directions in a heavy Breton accent, that she only half understood. She took the form and walked out. Had she been given clear instructions, she would have driven to the chemist’s and picked up their strongest sleeping pills. But as it was, she had some research to do, and her insomnia would serve her well tonight.

She went home, phoned Ellie, told her repeatedly that she loved her very much, and then had to assured her an equal amount of times that, no, she wasn’t - in fact - drunk (yet) nor depressed. She wouldn’t do anything stupid out of grief, and would be safely home soon. She didn’t think Ellie fully believed her, but after a few more ‘I love you’s, she let her go. Then she opened her laptop and read about Breton legends, plus everything the internet had to offer on mermaids, local or otherwise.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mermaid joins Serena on land for a while.

Chapter 4

She faced the new day with a considerable amount of knowledge on mermaids. Quite enough, in fact, to know better, than to ever go down to the bay again.

And yet…

She had been able to stay away until the late afternoon, but finally her curiosity won out. She found herself driving towards her bay. 

She would be careful. She knew so much now about mermaids now, that she would be fine. And anyway - this was just some swimmer playing a trick on her, right? Or perhaps her mind was putting these images before her. There were no such things as mermaids. Everyone knew that!

Just to be sure, when she had parked her car high upon the cliff, she took the police form out of her backpack and filled it out in its entirety, notifying the police - just in case her body was never found - that she had spotted a mermaid in the waters down below, and she intended to investigate.

She placed the form down on the passenger’s chair, closed her car doors, wrapped her shawl around her shoulders, and began the descend. 

The sea was as as calm as it had been the day before,waves lapping languidly at the rocks, a pale autumn sun shining over the water in an otherwise clear sky. Groups of seagulls were frolicking above the waves. 

Nothing out of the ordinary. How very boring.

Serena shifted, restlessly, on her rock. She wasn’t bloody crazy. She had seen this mermaid. She was seen by that mermaid. She needed to see the mermaid again. Okay, perhaps she was crazy.

She shifted again. It was getting colder. The wind was picking up. Perhaps it would rain soon. What was she doing out here on a rock, waiting for a mythological sea creature?

Hang on. She would sing it out of the water! 

She began to hum softly, letting her mind settle on the song it wanted to express. After a little while, she recognised the melody of a seventies love song, one of her mother’s old favourites. She went with it. Without shame she was going to sing that sea monster out of the depths. She belted out the lyrics, clear notes were carried over the sea waters! And just like that…

Splash!

A mackerel landed next to her on the rock, gasping for breath, its body convulsing.   
Yuck! She wasn’t going to kill a fish and wrap it into her shawl, which still held a faint periwinkle scent. And she surely wasn’t going to just watch the fish gasp for breath, until its time ran out. She got up and unceremoniously lobbed the mackerel back into the sea.

It was a bit ungrateful of her, perhaps - who knew, but nothing was to be done about it. She sat down and resumed her song. After a little while, a hand reached over the top of the rock, carefully placing a pebble on top of it, and disappearing into the waters.

Serena stopped singing and crouched forward to see the pebble. It had a hole in the middle,and little shimmery bits splattered across its surface. It was very beautiful. Serena put the rock into her pocket. Then she leaned forward a bit. Would the creature still be in the waters close to the rock? She saw a dark shadow below the surface.   
Her heart beat faster.   
She reached out a hand to the water’s surface.

Almost at once, two hands came up from the depths and closed around her wrist. Then she was yanked forward. In a panic, she gripped the rock with her other hand, finding the edge of a rock pool, and she pulled herself out of the grip with all her might. When the hands let go, she scrambled back upon the rock, sat back, quite a way away from the rock’s edge, but … stupidly stayed on the rock. What was wrong with her?

A creature had tried to snatch her off a rock, and drag her into the sea, yet here she was. Did she want to get killed?

No, she realised, with deep conviction. She actually, finally, truly wanted to live. She wanted to live. She had never felt so alive, as she had in these last few days.

And so she resumed her song,

..and was awarded, a little later, with a beautiful, ancient looking golden coin, that was flung at her from the rock’s edge. 

“Merci bien!” Serena shouted at the sea. 

She stopped her singing, and silently watched as the sun began to set, and the landscape around her changed.  
Darkness began to fall. 

She knew the creature was watching her.  
She knew it would swim, and sing to the moon.   
She knew it was as curious about her, as she was about it.  
She knew, that if it was able, it would crawl out of the waters, and meet Serena in her oxygen rich part of the world.  
And she knew from all her studying, that the creature would take a form that would be most desirable to Serena. She couldn’t wait to find out. She could finally stop all her guessing; she would know.

And sure enough,after a little while, an otherwordly melody rang out over the water.  
Serena squinted and almost immediately saw the swimmer near the horizon, calmly swimming along the coast, and back again, never looking into Serena’s direction.  
And then the song intensified, and the swimmer got closer to the rock. Little by little, the glimmering body got closer to Serena. They glided through the water effortlessly, while singing a haunting song, in a language that seemed as old as the stars.

And then suddenly, the singing stopped, and the swimmer dived under the water.   
Without a single doubt in her mind, Serena knew that she was being approached. Any moment now, and she would see the shape she felt most attracted to.

Beautiful, slender hands gripped the edge of the rock, and then strands of blonde hair appeared above it. Then kind eyes, a beautiful mouth, strong chin, and then the swimmer pushed themselves out of the water entirely.   
She, not they. Because before Serena, unmistakably, stood the most beautiful woman she had ever laid eyes on.

And just like that the puzzle pieces of her confusing grief fell into place. _This was why she tried so valiantly to make things work with Edward, putting up with so much of his crap. This was why she felt so deeply different, and lonely for all those years. This was why she hadn't dared to share her deepest, truest self with her mother. _

The one she longed for, was a woman. She had just never allowed herself to feel that, scared of being a disappointment her mother.   
But she could feel it now. She could feel all the depth of feeling she wanted to explore. 

And oh boy, the depth of feeling was profound, if her reaction to this mythical woman was anything to go by.

She knew she should be afraid. But she was curious instead, and not afraid at all. Her heart was beating so fast and the roaring she heard now, was not the sea, but the blood in her own ears.   
If she died from being so alive at this very moment, alive with this intensity, then it would all have been worth it. She trembled as the woman took some shaky steps closer to her. On legs. On long, long legs that the moon must adore for how wetly they reflected her image*.   
Serena didn’t know what she had expected from a mermaid. A tail? And a bikini top?

But the woman was entirely naked, and seemed to feel no shame in it. She took a few more careful steps, then slid down next to Serena, gingerly glancing in her direction. She quickly looked away and nervously tucked her hair behind ear. They sat like that, in silence, for long moments, before Serena realised she was staring, open mouthed. 

“Uh..excusez-moi. Je m’apelle Serena.”

The woman looked up in confusion.

“Serena,” she repeated, pointing at herself.

“Sirena?” The woman frowned. “Si-re-na?” She rolled the r’s, tasting every syllable carefully. Her voice sounded like a little ice cold mountain river, finding its path down its rocky bed.

“Yes,” Serena nodded.

“Hah! Sirena? Tsssh…!!” she said, her voice tinged with exasperation. “Tssshhh,” she clicked tongue disapprovingly, the irritation not aimed at Serena, but rather at herself “Sirena?” she asked again, as if she couldn’t believe,that she had been dumb enough to climb out of the sea to sit next to a woman called Serena.

“Yeah, sorry for the disappointment...Serena.”

“Ne.” Bernie lifted her eyebrows and muttered to herself. “Sirena...Peh!.” She looked at Serena again, and clicks her tongue. “Tsh.” shook her head, scattering droplets of sea water in the moonlight all around her. Then she smiled. 

Serena smiled back. “Who are you? “ She pointed at the woman.

“Benthesikyme.” It sounded like rays of sunlight hitting the tops of waves in a calm and very blue sea. Little streams of green and yellow light flickered along the sides of Benthesikyme’s body as she spoke her name. 

“Bear-i-nee-se?” Serena tried.

The woman threw her head in her neck and laughed. It was not an unkind laugh, but it was loud one nonetheless. It sounded like a group of baby seals on a sandbank, barking for their mother’s return. “Hah! Hah! Hah!” 

“Bear-nee,” Serena started again, getting it muddled up right away. “No, sorry…” 

The woman shrugged. “Hm. Berni?” she repeated, with a smile full of hope.

“Bernie? Okay?”

“Berni,” said the woman. “Hah! Berni, Sirena” as she points to Serena. 

“What are you?” asked Serena.”I’m sorry, that’s a strange question...uh..”

Bernie frowned. Blue lights flicker down from her throat, across her breasts, down to her stomach. She hissed lightly, then pointed out to the sea. “Thalassa.”

“Is that where you are from? Thalassa?” 

The woman nodded. She looked up at Serena, eyebrows high.

“Oh me? I’m from Holby,” Serena replied.

“Alby?” Bernie spoke with a voice that reminded of whale song.

“Holby.” 

“Albi? Albion?”

“Eh...well...close enough. I suppose I am from Albion!” Serena smiled. “Thalassa.” she pointed at Bernie. “Albion,” at herself.

“Sirena ia Albion,” said Bernie, as she reached up to touch Serena’s cheek. She clicked with her tongue, approvingly this time, as she tapped Serena skin lightly, looking into her eyes, then reaching up to touch Serena’s hair. “Kelti?” she asked. It sounded like droplets falling off a leaf into a puddle below. Serena was entirely too busy gazing at Bernie, so close up, to attempt to understand, let alone answer the question.

It made Bernie chuckle. Then her hand reached behind Serena’s neck, as she lightly tugged her forward and kissed her.  
As she pulled away, a rainbow of colours glimmered down her body.

“Oh.” Serena could only stare.

“O !” answered Bernie, and smiled so brightly, that it felt to Serena as if the sun had come back up. 

They sat smiling at each other for a few moments.   
Bernie couldn’t seem to look away from Serena, and for her part: Serena couldn’t stop gazing at Bernie. “Are you not cold?” she asked, lightly touching Bernie’s shoulder. A burst of colourful glimmers sparkled down Bernie’s magnificent body.  
She chuckled, as Serena’s gaze followed the colours down her skin, swirling together on her lower belly. 

“Col?” she asked back, as she touched Serena’s hand. If Serena had been able to burst into many colours too, she would have. She felt the touch travel through her nerves all the way up her arm, spine and explode in a sparkle of happiness inside her skull. 

“Here,” Serena says, as she unwrapped her shawl and laid it across Bernie’s shoulders. 

“Heh,” Bernie shrugged, feeling the soft woolen material between her fingers. “S’efcharisto,” she said, which sounded like millions of grains of sand being pulled back from a beach into the waters by the current, rolling over each other. She glanced at Serena. “Merci,” she said, and looked away shyly. A trail of red glimmers travelled up her arms, shoulders and neck, and onto her cheeks.

Serena smiled. “You’re very welcome.”

Bernie stood up suddenly, swaying lightly, holding the shawl together with one hand under her chin. “Adio, Sirena,” she said. Her eyes were serious, swirling with a deep sorrow.

“Wait, no, stay a little longer,” pleaded Serena.

Bernie clicked her tongue, pointing at the sea. Then she put a hand on Serena’s head, lightly ruffling her hair. A great sadness, but also a feeling of intense safety enveloped Serena.

“Adio,” repeated Bernie, and with a few shaky steps across the rock, she dove into the waves, the shawls fluttering behind her like a cape. She immediately disappeared into the depths, and Serena was alone once more. She suddenly became aware of the darkness around her. She shivered, but no longer had a shawl to provide warmth as she climbed back up to her car.   
She put away the police form in the dashboard locker. She took the heavy coin (actual, real gold?) and the shimmery pebble out of her pocket, and looked at them for a long while. Then she sighed and placed them in the dashboard locker too. 

Upon arriving home, she didn’t stop to eat, didn’t even turn any lights on. She let herself fall onto her bed and - for the first time in days - slept soundly


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Serena joins Bernie.in the water.

Chapter 5

The next morning, she listened to “thank you” in a great many languages on the internet, before figuring out that Bernie spoke a type of Greek, and Thalassa was not a place name, but one of many words for 'sea'.  
She practised some basic greek phrases all morning, trying to keep her mind off the kiss. (Swooning a little, nonetheless, every time she allowed her mind to go there. )

She knew she was being lured into the depths by a sea monster, looking like her most attractive lover. She was well aware that none of the stories, handed down in lore and history, ended well. And yet she also knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that she couldn’t walk away from Bernie any more than she could stop breathing voluntarily. The sea, the singing, Bernie - they were giving her life. And if that means she got to live a little, before meeting her untimely fate, then so it would be.

She didn't chastise herself, therefor, when she found herself driving back to the bay in the early afternoon. The sun was bright, and there was almost no wind.  
When she arrived at her rock, there was a beautiful display of sea shells waiting for her, a mosaic in the form of a labyrinth. Serena traced the labyrinth inwards, following the dark blue shells, with her finger. And then she traced the light yellow shells back outwards all the way, before sitting down and starting her song.  
Almost immediately, Bernie’s beautiful hands appeared above the rock, and she gently placed an old fork on its craggy surface.  
Serena chuckled.  
“S’efcharisto!” she calls out to the sea. A spray of sea water splashed up in reply.

She continued to sing, and little sea gifts continued to be laid on the rock. 

I’m depleting her entire collection, thought Serena to herself, and smirked. Then she reached into her backpack and took out her wallet, finding a euro coin.

She sang, while holding her hand out above the water, her other hand’s fingers firmly gripping the edge of a rock pool. 

Bernie came up out of the water, her beautiful hair, hanging around her face in wet tendrils. The shawl had been pinned with a bone pin, and it floated in the water around Bernie’s shoulders.  
Serena needn’t have worried. Bernie didn’t grab her. She pulled herself up the rock a little, carefully took the coin from her, licked it - seemed surprised, clenched it between her teeth and bit down hard. She hissed loudly, sounding like a waterfall that rushes down hundreds of meters, then put the coin in her hand. The gift had been approved.  
“Merci,” she said.  
“You’re very welcome” Serena smiled.

Come out, she gestured to Bernie. But Bernie sadly shook her head.

“Can you not come out during daylight, is that it?” asked Serena. She read about that,in one of the legends. 

Bernie didn’t understand the question of course, but she smiled a little sadly, before disappearing underneath the water. A few seconds later she got back up though, a glint in her eyes. 

“Ela!” she said, sounding like a smooth pebble skidding over the surface of a calm lake, and she gestured for Serena to follow her. Not into the water, but along the shore line. 

Serena followed her. Bernie popped up out of the water, every now and then, checking to see if Serena is still clambering along the rocks, then disappeared under the water again.

“Ela!” 

“Yes, yes, I’m not seventeen anymore,” huffed Serena, as she made her way along the shore. Then suddenly the rocks gave way to a small sandy beach.  
It seemed that the engineers of the path down the rock face, had this destination in mind too, judging by the half rotten canoe at the side of the beach, and the discarded barbecue on the other. 

Serena took off her shoes. The sand felt pleasantly warm from the day's sunshine. She walked to the edge of the water, laughing at the wild water ballet that Bernie seemed to.be performing in the shallow water, all for Serena's entertainment. Serena let the cool water swirl around her ankles.  
And she was already in the water up to her waist, her dress discarded carelessly on the beach, before she is thinking clearly again. Oh…

Bernie's hand grabbed hold of her wrists to pull her into deeper waters. 'No!' Serena quickly walked backwards to the beach again.  
“No! No further,” she said sternly. “You’re not coming out of the water, I’m not going in.”

She was standing in knee deep water now. Bernie popped her head above the surface. 

“I stay here,” stated Serena firmly. “Okay?”

“Okay!” mirrored Bernie, with a mischievous glint in her eye. She disappeared under water and not moments later, Serena felt her legs being pulled out under her and her bum landing on the sand on the bottom. The water came up to her shoulders now. Bernie stuck her head above the water, the alpaca woolen shawl driften about her neck. 

“You verrrry welcome,” she said, swimming up close, maintaining eye contact, and then kissing Serena soundly. Serena lost sense of time and space, and apparently of fashion to, because when the kiss ended, and she opened her eyes again, her undergarments were floating in the water next to her. 

“Eh...how?”

“Dondia,” said Bernie, as she bared her teeth and pointed at them. 

“No..,” said Serena, in exasperation. “No, I meant...never mind..just..” She meant to pull Bernie close for another kiss, but Bernie had other plans, it seemed. She dove back under water, and Serena felt Bernie’s hands take hold of her hips and then Bernie’s mouth was on her neck, and the next second she was kissed on the inside of her knee. Serena tried to grab hold of Bernie, but the woman seemed to be everywhere and nowhere at once, avoiding her hands as she was simultaneously kissing every part of Serena that was below the waterline. The cool waves lapped against her, the warm sun was shining on her head, Serena’s hands grasped hold of the sand to try and find any anchor at all, but the sand simple sifted through her fingers. She let herself fall backwards, so that only her head was still above the water, half floating, half sitting on the sea bed - fully alive in her all of her senses. And as she heard herself cry out, she realised she was not being pulled under by Bernie. She was, instead, being supported, loved, nurtured. None of the myths were true.

“Very welcome, ne?” said Bernie, resurfacing a good while later. It sounded like a school of fish, flitting through the water effortlessly, their silver lithe bodies glinting from the filtered sunlight that broke through the surface of the water above them.

Serena was still gathering her breath, having gone back onto the beach, trying to ground herself. She was in no state of mind to answer any question.

Bernie chuckled. “Adio?” she said after a while.

“You're going? Already?” 

Bernie clicked her tongue and pointed far out into the sea. 

“Yeah, I don’t know what that means, but it must be important, eh?” Serena said. “One more kiss? Come here.” She wanted to pull Bernie out of the water, but was pulled back into the sea instead, quite a lot deeper than before.

Bernie laughed softly. It sounded like a sea anemone, gently whirling its tentacles through the water.  
All that could be seen of Bernie now, were her eyes and the top of her head, and the ends of the woolen shawl, drifting on the surface. She lifted her head out quickly for a kiss, and then her eyes were just above water level again, twinkling with the same mischief as they had done before. 

“What are you up to?” laughed Serena. “Don’t you need to go clickclacking in the deep waters?” She was standing shoulder deep in the water now.

Bernie raised her eyebrows for a moment, and then her fingers were stroking the inside of Serena’s thighs again. 

“Oh,” breathed Serena. “I’m not going to complain about that.”  
Serena maintained eye contact for as long as she could, before her head fell back and she was supported by Bernie, as she dived over the edge of another orgasm. Bernie held her up, close to the surface, as she gathered her breath, then kissed her soundly, pushed her to the shore and stated, ‘Adio’. 

“Yeah, adios,” replied Serena, watching her dive away. She crawled back out of the water, pulled her dress and shoes on, and found her way across the rocks, back to where she had left her backpack, holding her wallet and passport, and all her earthly belongings. Thank goodness the backpack was where she had left it. As she bent to pick it up…

Splosh! Splash!

Her bra and underpants landed on the rock next to her bag. Oh yes, she had forgotten about them.  
She laughed. “Merci!” she shouted at the sea. And she imagined that somewhere in the deep, a rumbly ‘very welcome’ was replied.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Serena consults a witch.

Chapter 6

Upon getting home, Serena had a shower, had lunch and allowed herself a few moments to bask in the wonderful feeling of being loved in a way that she understood with her entire being.

Then she reluctantly shook herself out of that mood, and set to work, trying to figure out how - if she wasn’t going to be pulled into the sea permanently - she could lure Bernie permanently onto land instead. Bernie seemed capable of staying on land, at least in the dark.

She tried to find stories about mermaids who had become land dwellers. There were very few precedents, and all of them involved witchcraft.

Well...it was worth a shot.

She drove back to Pont-Croix, and stepped into the police station. The same officer was sat behind the counter, eating a bowl of tuna pasta and watching the news on tv. He held out a form. 

“Non, merci,” she said. “Oú est la sorcière locale, s’il vous plaît?”

He looked up, raised eyebrows, looked Serena up and down, then sucked some tuna out from between his teeth.

“Bah,” he said, finally. “C’est ne pas trop loin…” And in a posh French accent, he explained the directions, and even drew a little map of the neighbouring village, with the witch’s cottage clearly marked. “Bonne chance, eh?” He turned to watching the news again.

The cottage was easy to find. When she stepped onto the garden path, the door to the cottage opened immediately, and out stepped an elderly lady, followed by three cats.

“Bonjour, je veux eh….” started Serena.

“In your mother tongue please,child” said the lady. “I get very tired of tourists, mangling our beautiful language. Now come in, and ask your question. You have no time to lose.”

“Oh, eh..well,” said Serena. She walked into the cottage and was ushered to sit down in one of the big chairs near the fireplace.

The lady remained standing. She tapped her foot on the stone floor. The cats meowed loudly. “Out with it,” she said. “Am I a witch, is that what you want to know?”

“Eh yes,” said Serena.

“Well, of course I am, otherwise you had not followed Officer Deniel’s directions very well, now had you? What can I help you with?”

Now the cats stood tapping their little feet.

“Eh..well, I eh…”

“Hm, curious,” said the witch. “Why would a Siren come to ask me how to lure anything onto land permanently? Isn’t that your very purpose? Why you are confused, child?”

“I’m not a…! Am I a…?” 

“Oh dear, these modern times. No one knows their purpose anymore, I’m telling you,” she turned to her cats, who were all nodding vigorously. “Are you only agreeing with me, because I provide your dinners?” The cats shook their little heads with even more vigour. “Right...well...where was I?” 

“Uhm..modern times.”

“I have never been with modern times, dear,” said the witch. “Too many thoughts, not enough wisdom, for my liking. Anyway, what are you planning on luring onto land, pray tell?”

“A mermaid.”

“Well!” shrieked the witch. “Well! Get the good china out, lads!” 

The cats ran off immediately, as the witch sat down in the other big chair. “I had not seen that coming! And I see most things coming from many miles. A mermaid, eh? Now that is worth the luring!”

Serena sighed.

“Who is it?” asked the witch. “Not to pry into your love life, Siren, but I haven’t heard any good sea gossip for several years. Not since they automated the lighthouses, really. Do I know this mermaid? What is her name?” 

“Oh...uh..how did you know...uh?” 

The witch tapped her foot. 

“Ah, well, yes, well...it is Bernie. Well that is to say Be…

“Not Benthesikyme?! Poseidon’s daughter!” The witch shrieked! “Lads, come here!! Leave the tea! Come in here, you need to listen to this!” The clanging of porcelain could be heard in the other room. Promptly the cats came running back in, and sat at the feet of their lady expectantly. “This Siren here is going to lure Benthesikyme out of the waves! I wonder what her name will be _then_, hm? Any ideas?”

The cats shook their heads, and meowed “Oh!” excitedly.

“No...no. Well, first things first. Tell me again, dear, why a Siren is asking _me_, a simple sea witch, to lure a mermaid, the daughter of the sea god, no less, onto land?” 

“Why are you calling me a Siren?”

“Your mother has called you one, you have called yourself one, you have lured a mermaid to the shores with your song. Why would I not call you a Siren, when you _are_ a Siren? What is the sense in that?” The cats lifted their little chins up, and stuck their noses into the air.

Serena had no idea what to answer to that. And it didn't help that she was stared at indignantly by three pairs of cat eyes.

“Now, you have all the parts to your answer. You only have to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Sea witches are no good at puzzling. We identify the pieces. You do the puzzling. Isn’t that right, my little lads?” 

The cats nodded solemnly.

“Right, to work then!” said the witch, as she stood up and pointed at the door. “I’m sorry about the tea, but you have work to do, Siren. No time for formalities. Run along, now. We wish you well.” The cats meowed loudly to underline that statement.

And just like that, Serena was driving back to her holiday home, her thoughts completely jumbled, but even she could feel the beginnings of a plan forming.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Serena tries to lure Bernie out of the sea, forever.

Serena stayed up all through that night. Her plan was deceptively simple - for a siren at least - but she was lacking a good dose of courage, and still wasn’t so sure she was made of actual siren material. 

As the morning approached, and her courage had still not been found, Serena got into her car and drove to the bay anyway. 

She got out of the car, and had only taken a few steps down the footpath, when the singing started from the sea. Serena looked out over the waters, and easily spotted the beautiful Bernie among the waves.   
She walked down to her rock, and sat down upon it.

Before much longer, Bernie’s head popped up above the rock, and she hoisted herself out of the water. “Sirena,” she stated, sounding the last stone being fitted into a dam, the force of the water itself holding it into place. And Serena felt emboldened sustoddesustodtonly, called to her purpose, even by Bernie herself.

Bernie sat next to Serena, leaning in for a kiss, colourful specks swirling up and down her body. They kissed for a long time, and each kiss strengthened Serena’s resolve.

The sky began to lose its darkness. A pale red started to seep in. Bernie looked up.

“Adio…” she sighed. 

“No, stay,” said Serena.

Bernie shook her head, sadly. She clicked her tongue and pointed at the sea

“Look at me, Benthesikyme.” Serena stood up, and held out her hand. “Come with me?”

Bernie looked at her with wide eyes, and stood up too. 

Serena held her hand out again. “Ella mazi mou?” she asked. “Se parakalo, Benthesikyme? Ella mazi mou, come with me.please?” 

Bernie looked at the sea, and back to Serena. 

And then, as the first rays of the sun broke through the morning sky, Serena started humming. As she hummed, she held out her hand again. “Take it, Bernie. Come with away with me,” she sang. It is an entirely new song, but one that she knew the melody and lyrics to perfectly. “Come away with me, Bernie,” she sang, as she began to walk away. 

For a moment it looked like Bernie was going to run across the rock and dive into the water, but then she turned around and took Serena’s hand. “Sirena,” she said. “Bernie,” sang Serena, and she sang the song, all the way up to the car. She held Bernie close, as the sun’s rays turned from red to yellow and from yellow to clear daylight. Bernie whimpered upon the rays hitting her skin. Multicoloured sparkles were running up and down her body, then seemed to fizz up and out. Bernie’s skin turned a dull watery grey. Serena kissed her skin, over and over. Bernie’s hands, her forehead, her neck, as Bernie leaned into her. And slowly but surely a lively colour took hold within Bernie, and started glowing through her skin, giving it a pinkish hue. Bernie shivered in the morning air. Serena wrapped the shawl around her and led Bernie to the car. She hadn’t thought this part through yet. She was about to drive around with someone who has likely never driven in a car before. Someone who was, also, quite naked. 

Ah well, this Siren and her Mermaid will figure it out, thought Serena to herself. The easy part was done, singing her sea creature out of the water. Now they had to figure out how to live happily ever after, in one world, together.


End file.
